Love and My Favorite Western

29Dec

Lonesome Dove is my favorite western. Over Christmas we had a Lonesome Dove marathon right here on our black leather couch, all snug and cozy in our cabin while the mercury dropped and snow blew. Watching Texas Rangers wrangle and drive cattle across the country.

The two main characters, Woodrow Call and Gus McCrae, seemed to be about as different as night and day. Stoic vs gregarious. Unbending vs flexible. Tight-lipped vs chatty. You get the idea…black vs white. Captian Call seemed to need no one and want no one. Captain McCrae sought out and relished interaction.

Love is what they had in common. They loved deeply. Crusty, scraggly love creeped out from around the edges of their Texas Ranger hardness. Carving wooden headstones, saving hostages from Native American outlaws, incessant arguing were a few of their expressions of love for friends and each other.